Kale, the poultry opiate

[weirdmuse]

I'll have to try the kale. My personal fav is to watch them with grapes. It becomes like a little rugby match. One chook will grab up a grape and run throught the crowd and invariably another will grab it right out of her beak and head the other way only to have it stolen! The first time I saw this, I laughed all day!

 

[cwc362]

Quote:
No you are definitely not the only one!! Now I'm relieved that I'm not the only one that thinks like that- I also think - Man if I could win the lottery I could hop in my new car and drive to all these breeders in other states and pick up eggs and chickens and ducks and geese and cows and so on and so on and so on!! LOL Of course I would have to pick up the cows and bigger stuff in my new truck and trailer!! LOL

 

[Garden Gal]

You know there is something wrong with you when you are perfectly fine with being low on groceries and willing to eat a PBJ sandwich in order to avoid going to the grocery store, but as soon as you hear chickens love Kale and cabbage you are getting dressed to head down to wallyworld!! LOL!

 

[Terri O]

I never thought to give the LO Kale to the chickens...I grew it for my Tortoise! Now that it is frozen he doesnt want it so I guess I know what I am going to cut down tomorrow! I am so glad I have the day off!!! My girls know the sound of the bread wrappers and come running all around my feet. THey fight like crazy for the pieces. I have about 55 birds in a too small coop (Just added 40 birds to mine) but I am glad that I did it...since the below zero weather the coop has been pleasantly warm! (only 1 frozen egg so far!) Terri O in WI

 

[Nostalchic]

My chickens also love kale, and it's super easy to grow in the garden, stays green and tasty through many frosts in the fall, way past Thanksgiving even here in Colorado. So sad when it was finally frozen and dead, then I discovered that my local Vitamin Cottage had big boxes of produce "prep"stuff: slightly wilted greens, kale, etc that they would otherwise throw away, and my chickens love it! I love Vitamin Cottage because they only sell organic produce, but I've heard that almost all groceries will provide similar stuff that they would otherwise send to the landfill, and your chickens will be so pleased to take it off their hands. Check it out!

 

[Terri O]

Well, It is a little more difficult than that...at least here! They tell me that it is ILLEGAL to give away the almost spoiled produce! I have to be careful that "my" produce girl is on duty. Then she gives me great big boxes of stuff on Fridays when she is supposed to get rid of it. (she hates waste too) I just wish that every one wasnt so sue happy so they had to make these rules! I used to work at McDonald's...at that time (dont know about now) we threw away sacks of stuff! If you got caught eating any of it, it was grounds for immediate termination. Never understood that mentality--still dont. Terri O in WI

 

[Nostalchic]

Terri O that is really a bummer. I've noticed that "my" produce guy initially asked what this was for, and if I said "for my chickens" he visibly relaxed and was very forthcoming. I guess this is why. Sometimes I feel downright guilty giving this really nice organic produce to my chickens when it is perfectly fine, and some unfortunate people should be making dinner with it instead of whatever pre-packaged processed garbage they got from the food bank, but that is our current "system" and the fact that it may be illegal to distribute wilted greens does explain a lot. Good grief!

 

[newbiedood]

But, an opiate would sedate...not make a chicken crazy. Little confused there. Maybe you meant Kale is like Meth or PCP for chickens. Either way, pretty funny.

 

[newbiedood]

I wonder about the Oxalic Acid content of Kale...seems like it could become a problem if given too much.

 

[fuentemoon]

My chicken loves most greens. I have an iguana too so we usually have lots of collards and often mustard greens. Both have been getting some kale lately, but I buy it for myself since it is a green my iguana isn't supposed to have much of, so I wonder about chickens too. For Iguanas (and some people actually) it can cause thyroid issues. Our hen comes in the house every morning for her leaves though, whatever kind we have! Haven't bought grapes, but blueberries...oh my.